Are You Ready for a Fresh Start? (Update)

Behavioral scientists have been exploring whether a psychological reset can lead to lasting change. In this update of a 2021episode, we survey evidence from the London Underground, Major League Baseball, and New Year’s resolutions to look at accidental fresh starts, forced fresh starts, fresh starts that backfire — and the ones that succeed.

• SOURCES:
  • Katy Milkman, professor at the Wharton School.
  • Andy Byford, former commissioner of Transport for London.
  • Ferdinand Rauch, economist at the University of St. Gallen.
  • Hengchen Dai, professor at U.C.L.A.’s Anderson School of Management.
  • Bob Tewksbury, former big-league pitcher.

• RESOURCES:
  • “ALarge-Scale Experiment on New Year’s Resolutions: Approach-Oriented Goals are More Successful than Avoidance-Oriented Goals,” by Martin Oscarsson, Per Carlbring, Gerhard Andersson, and Alexander Rozental (PLOS ONE, 2020).
  • “ADouble-Edged Sword: How and Why Resetting Performance Metrics Affects Motivation and Performance,” by Hengchen Dai (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2018).
  • “The Benefits of Forced Experimentation: Striking Evidence from the London Underground Network,” by Shaun Larcom, Ferdinand Rauch, and Tim Willems (2017).
  • “Framingthe Future: The Risks of Pre-Commitment Nudges and Potential of Fresh Start Messaging,” by John Beshears, Hengchen Dai, Katherine L. Milkman, and Shlomo Benartzi (NBER, 2016).
  • “TheFresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behavior,” by Hengchen Dai, Katherine L. Milkman, and Jason Riis (Management Science, 2014).
  • “Holdingthe Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym: An Evaluation of Temptation Bundling,” by Katherine L. Milkman, Julia A. Minson, and Kevin G. M. Volpp (Management Science, 2013).
  • “TheResolution Solution: Longitudinal Examination of New Year’s Change Attempts,” by John C. Norcross and Dominic J.Vangarelli (Journal of Substance Abuse, 1989).

• EXTRAS:
  • Howto Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, by Katy Milkman (2021).

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